<p>One (out of three) of mine isn’t going. She’s being pretty smart about the ways in which she is going about getting skills. Once she is seen as truly mature, I think her prospects for what she wants to do will be good. Honestly, the real problem is that employers don’t always want newly adult employees for many jobs and, in fact, many young adults aren’t ready for them yet.</p>
<p>I think it’s a shame that everyone feels so pressured to go to college versus other types of training, and there should be more funding put into other options. There should also be more internships open to non-students. People are going into debt, or suffering while working or caring for kids while also trying to get a degree. Teenagers are made to feel there is no other way. And in fact, unfortunately, that is becoming a reality.</p>
<p>The world is changing. Sitting in a classroom in order to learn is no longer essential. We have many ways to learn what we need to know. Meanwhile, if a job is the reason people are going to college, many could do better with an associate’s or certificate related to a trade, at community college, or learning on the job. </p>
<p>Some students really love college and are actually intellectually stimulated and happy there. Those students should go to college regardless of career prospects from doing so. Others want careers that really do depend on college. But for many others, there should be respect for other paths.</p>
<p>The more the stampede to college continues, the more degree inflation we will see, and the bachelor’s itself will go the way of the high school diploma in terms of value- if it hasn’t already. Meanwhile, schools benefit from government Pell grants and other funding as they enroll more students who need them.</p>
<p>Has everyone checked the cost of graduate school? Will that be the next thing everyone feels compelled to do, to stand out? How will we pay for that?</p>